1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to frames and racks for holding articles, and, more particularly, to racks for supporting container lids such as lids for cooking pots.
2. Background of the Related Art
Cooking and preparing food on a stove top commonly requires the use of cylindrical or similar containers called pots having complementary lids. It is typical for the lids to be moved on and off the pots while cooking to check and stir the food in the pots, and well as add certain ingredients to the food as it is being cooked. When the lids are removed for more than a few seconds, they are often laid handle-side up on the stove top or adjacent counter top causing sauce or other liquids such as condensate collected on the lid to drip onto the stove top or counter top. It is therefore desirable to temporarily store or support the lids so that they don't drip and are out of the way while cooking.
Several lid storage racks are disclosed in the following U.S. Patents: U.S. Pat. No. 941,653 to Rothengatter; U.S. Pat. No. 1,065,000 to Sarter et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 1,528,744 to Dix; U.S. Pat. No. 1,986,486 to Swanson; U.S. Pat. No. 2,934,210 to Jordan; U.S. Pat. No. 2,972,414 to Sipe; U.S. Pat. No. 3,094,215 to Sipe; U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,627 to Elder; U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,308 to Lam; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,593 to Knittel et al.
The '653 patent by Rothengatter discloses a foldable rack for supporting a number of cooking pot lids. The rack has a stem carrying a plurality of spaced clasps that may be folded upright or swung downwardly for supporting lids at an angle from the stem. Each clasp is a single piece of wire bent to form a transverse rear arm and a pair of opposing side loops giving the clasp a width approximately twice as great as its depth from the stem. This requires that the lids be positively engaged under the transverse rear arm because the depth of the clasp is not sufficient to otherwise support the lids, particularly as the diameter of the lids increases. Furthermore, the disclosure only illustrates the lids being stowed in a handle-up position, which would permit sauces and liquids collected on the underside of the lid to drip onto a stove top or counter top.
The '000 patent by Sarter et al., the '744 patent by Dix, the '486 patent by Swanson, and the '210 patent by Jordan each disclose various bent-wire racks for supporting a plurality of cooking pot lids. Each of the disclosed racks supports the lids in substantially vertical or steeply inclined positions, permitting sauces or liquids collected on the underside of the lids to drip down onto the stove top or counter top when the lids are stored in these racks.
The rack of the '000 patent includes a large inclined base making the rack suitable for draining water from the supported lids after washing them, but is not suitable for use while cooking.
The rack of the '210 patent includes a drip tray for collecting drippings from stored lids as well as for storing cooking utensils. The rack employs elongated outer legs that support a shortened V-shaped bend defining a recess to support smaller lids by their handles. Larger lids, however, are supported by spaced transverse rods, permitting the supported lids to slide down and splatter drippings outside the drip tray.
The '414 and '215 patents by Sipe disclose other racks for storing a plurality of cooking pot lids. The disclosed racks employ a plurality of narrow, vertically-spaced loops extending from a supporting element to support the lids in an inverted (handle-down) position. The narrowness of the loops makes the loops unsuitable for storing large diameter lids because the lids will be prone to tip to one side and fall from the loops, particularly if the lids have small handles that don't fully engage the sides of the loops.
The '627 patent by Elder discloses another lid holder rack that employs various alternative structures such as a forward support bar with V-shaped notches and a bent wire frame body. Each the disclosed embodiments relies substantially on the geometry of the lid handle to ensure positive engagement with the rack, thereby rendering the disclosed racks unsuitable for certain large diameter lids having relatively small handles.
The '308 patent to Lam and the '593 patent to Knittel et al. disclose other lid storage racks, each of which also store lids in a substantially vertical or steeply inclined position, permitting sauces or liquids collected on the underside of the lids to drip down onto the stove top or counter top when the lids are stored in these racks while cooking. The '593 patent includes a base, presumably to catch drippings from the stored lids. The base supports three different-sized vertical lid supports and four retainers intermediate the lid supports. This configuration requires that the base be relatively broad and take up a considerable amount of surface area on a stove top or counter top when used while cooking.
It is therefore desirable to provide a rack for coking pot lids that supports the lids in an inverted position to prevent cooking fluids from dripping from the underside of the stored lids.
It is further desirable to provide such a rack that reliably supports a lid or a plurality of lids of varying diameters.
It is further desirable to provide such a rack that reliably supports a lid or a plurality of lids independently of the size or geometry of the lid handles.
It is still further desirable to provide such a rack that requires little or no surface area on a kitchen counter top or stove top.